Monthly Archives: April 2013

UNFAIR TELCOS: The National Telecommunications Commission should stop cellphone companies from holding hostage their contracted users by making them pay a flat pretermination penalty when they opt out before their two-year term is over.

MANILA, Philippines – The armed conflict in Sabah has displaced over 7,000 Filipinos, and disaster officials of the Autonomous Region For Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are expecting thousands more to arrive in the region in the coming months.

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic lay group White Vote Movement endorsed yesterday six “Team Buhay” senatorial candidates as a show of force to deliver six million votes to those who voted against the passage of the Reproductive Health Law last year.

Google’s executive chairman has made a bold prediction about the spread of the Internet. Do you think that prediction will come true?

MUCH has been said about how relatively low the inflow of foreign direct investments to the Philippines is compared to other countries in the region. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to the country actually went up by 9.8 percent from 2011 to $2.03 billion in 2012, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Sixto Donato C. MacasaetSixto Donato C. MacasaetAround two weeks ago (third week of March 2013), I was at a regional workshop of civil society organizations (CSOs) to evaluate the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) process for the year 2014.

A former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said on Sunday that the power problem in southern Philippines is expected to drag down the economy, which is projected to grow by 6 percent to 7 percent this year.

Paper by Bruegel scholars forms basis for discussions at Ecofin meeting in Dublin The European Union’s economic growth strategy has been a failure so far and unless bold steps are taken the economy will continue to stagnate, a study commissioned by EU finance ministers said.

MANILA, Philippines – Putting in place a trade dispute settlement system, plus further liberalization of transport systems, as well as stronger linkages between the private support organizations and traders are all necessary as the Southeast Asian region is heading towards economic integration, government and private sector officials said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Capital flows to Southeast Asia have not reached pre-crisis levels, but central banks in the region would likely impose more measures to temper them and prevent a repeat of the financial crises in 1997 and 2008, an investment bank said.

I’ve attended so many seminars, read so many books on motivation and personal development, heard thousands of audio files and learned so many things, that it becomes impossible for me to share everything in a lifetime. But if I could condense my learnings into two vital life lessons, it would be these two:

MANILA, Philippines – The declining share of agriculture in the Philippine economy could be a reason for the country’s high poverty incidence.

Lagarde says Europeans essentially are responsible for their own fate. WASHINGTON — The head of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday the greatest threat to a lasting economic recovery in Europe is “the fatigue of both governments and populations” over painful steps taken to boost growth and combat national debt.

FOREIGN PORTFOLIO investments remained strong in March but profit taking pulled the net result down for a second straight month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported.

GENEVA, Switzerland – The United Nations launched a plan Friday, April 12, aimed at all but eradicating childhood deaths from diarrhea and pneumonia by 2025, in a bid to save the lives of some two million children every year.

The combination of weak exports and benign inflation may lead to further monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, according to HongKong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Ltd.

A faulty airbag part that can explode and send shrapnel into the passenger cabin is responsible for the global recall of more than 3 million cars manufactured by Honda, Nissan, Toyota and General Motors and will likely lead to more recalls.

TOKYO – Up to 3.39 million vehicles made by major Japanese manufacturers will be recalled worldwide because of possible problems with airbags, the companies said Thursday.

GROWTH LIKELY remained strong in the first quarter given healthy domestic demand and supply conditions, monetary authorities noted during a policy meeting last month.

FOREIGN DIRECT investments (FDI) took a nosedive in January as equity capital shrank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is skeptical of the ability of the Philippine government’s interagency committees to deal with labor issues such as labor-related killings, the transcript of a United States Trade Representative (USTR) hearing showed.

That is what is driving the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the Philippines.

The world economy looks better than it did half a year ago, but uneven pace of growth among regions have brought about a “three-speed” global economy, said International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.

Phl asked to provide plans for labor legislation MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is asking the Philippine government to provide plans regarding passage of legislation concerning union registration as well as cases when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) were involved in labor…

DESPITE CLAIMS to the contrary, the Philippines’ fiscal space is narrow and will continue to tighten unless steady, sustainable sources of revenues are generated. For a country that is on a catch-up mode, the Philippines has large and increasing public expenditure needs for education, health, public infrastructure and military pension.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should extend the period of assistance given to current beneficiaries of its conditional cash transfer program instead of adding more families to the program, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said in a statement.

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) here is urging the government to look at the possibility of allowing full foreign ownership in public utilities without necessarily amending the Constitution.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has cut its trade growth forecast for 2013 because of risks from the eurozone crisis and from greater protectionism. Global trade is now expected to grow by 3.3% this year, the WTO says, down from its earlier forecast of 4.5%.

NEW YORK AND LONDON (April 10, 2013) – The outsourcing industry is failing to invest in the skills needed to capture the full value from outsourcing engagements, an HfS Research study, sponsored by Accenture, reveals. The report, entitled ” Is Good Enough Really Good Enough? The Great Talent Paradox in Outsourcing ,” confirms that in…

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) should consider an extended period of assistance to current beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash-Transfer Program instead of increasing the number of its beneficiaries, according to a study undertaken by researchers from government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).